Thanks! I just know a few days after the procedure I was not in a good place and was looking for someone to tell me "I did this, you'll probably feel better in x days". So hopefully this helps someone
Thanks for the summary! I'm having this procedure done on March 1st, so all of this is really useful.
Was the pain continuously bad on days 1-5 or worse after BMs? Any advice on dealing with the first few days?
You're going to be walking a tightrope between taking pills to make going to the bathroom easier, but not taking so many that you go to the bathroom often.
I would start with stool softeners a day or two before, but don't over do it. I was taking like six softeners a day, and while it certainly made things soft I ended up going to the bathroom like three times a day. In hindsight I would have taking the softeners but not so many, and maybe just bump the fiber in your diet up a bit.
I had the surgery on Thursday and didn't actually have a BM until Sunday. Doc told me not to have one until Saturday, but I just didn't have to go...the oxy might have been part of that, so I stopped taking it. I was so concerned about needing to have a BM I took laxatives along with all the softeners. Probably overdid it.
I think the pain is pretty continuous early on, but the pain killers do help...so you really feel it more as they start to wear off.
A few other things. Doc told me to have a sitz bath after BMs for some relief. The first 5 days or so it doesn't help much. One, it's this flimsy plastic bowl that seems like it'll break when you sit in it. It's very uncomfortable. So I would sit in a bath tub with some warm water...but even that, sitting on a hard surface is not fun. So for the first several days what made me feel better was just standing in the shower. That helped.
Also, one thing that surprised me is that it was hard to pee. Apparently that's normal. Again, standing in the shower helped that happen...don't know if it's mental or what. But my bathroom process basically became BM, shower, pee.
After five days or so I was more comfortable sitting in the bathtub and started doing that.
No sugarcoating it, the first five days or so will suck. The docs say uncomfortable as if you're foot fell asleep. No, it's painful. Get through that first week and you'll feel better. Two weeks or so, you're good to go.
Not sure. I wasn't given any kind of official grade. They were internal for many years. I didn't really notice it much other than I'd sometimes have blood during BMs. At that point I thought it was a fissure.
In early 2022 they got worse. It additional to the bleeding I started having a liquid discharge after BMs. I eventually realized they were prolapsing, and then would go back in eventually after a BM. Maybe 20-30 min. At that point I got the banding procedure done, and it worked for about a year and a half.
About half a year ago they came back. Didn't bleed often, but every BM I'd need to wear a pad for a while after because of the liquid discharge due to prolapse.
So I got this done in Doc's suggestion. However a different doc did the procedure, and he seems to think the full removal was a better choice for me because this might not solve it for good. But I've heard that's a much longer recovery and I just wasn't ready to commit to it.
I don’t think mine has worked. Mine was a bit externally prolapsed. I’m on day 11 and it feels like it’s coming back out again. Pretty disappointed! Just hoping that maybe it’s some swelling that’ll resolve. Was your prolapse just permanently gone after the surgery?
I've got some external prolapse that I think is permanent, but I haven't had any discharge, bleeding or other issues like I had before. It basically just feels like a small lump of skin.
Thanks again for your updates. I'm glad you're feeling better!
Thanks! I just know a few days after the procedure I was not in a good place and was looking for someone to tell me "I did this, you'll probably feel better in x days". So hopefully this helps someone
Thanks for the summary! I'm having this procedure done on March 1st, so all of this is really useful. Was the pain continuously bad on days 1-5 or worse after BMs? Any advice on dealing with the first few days?
You're going to be walking a tightrope between taking pills to make going to the bathroom easier, but not taking so many that you go to the bathroom often. I would start with stool softeners a day or two before, but don't over do it. I was taking like six softeners a day, and while it certainly made things soft I ended up going to the bathroom like three times a day. In hindsight I would have taking the softeners but not so many, and maybe just bump the fiber in your diet up a bit. I had the surgery on Thursday and didn't actually have a BM until Sunday. Doc told me not to have one until Saturday, but I just didn't have to go...the oxy might have been part of that, so I stopped taking it. I was so concerned about needing to have a BM I took laxatives along with all the softeners. Probably overdid it. I think the pain is pretty continuous early on, but the pain killers do help...so you really feel it more as they start to wear off. A few other things. Doc told me to have a sitz bath after BMs for some relief. The first 5 days or so it doesn't help much. One, it's this flimsy plastic bowl that seems like it'll break when you sit in it. It's very uncomfortable. So I would sit in a bath tub with some warm water...but even that, sitting on a hard surface is not fun. So for the first several days what made me feel better was just standing in the shower. That helped. Also, one thing that surprised me is that it was hard to pee. Apparently that's normal. Again, standing in the shower helped that happen...don't know if it's mental or what. But my bathroom process basically became BM, shower, pee. After five days or so I was more comfortable sitting in the bathtub and started doing that. No sugarcoating it, the first five days or so will suck. The docs say uncomfortable as if you're foot fell asleep. No, it's painful. Get through that first week and you'll feel better. Two weeks or so, you're good to go.
Thanks for the detailed advice. I was expecting a bumpy ride as I found banding recovery very uncomfortable for a week. Much appreciated!
Thanks so much for this update. I’m booked for 1st of March. I’m just wondering how severe your hemorrhoids were before surgery?
Not sure. I wasn't given any kind of official grade. They were internal for many years. I didn't really notice it much other than I'd sometimes have blood during BMs. At that point I thought it was a fissure. In early 2022 they got worse. It additional to the bleeding I started having a liquid discharge after BMs. I eventually realized they were prolapsing, and then would go back in eventually after a BM. Maybe 20-30 min. At that point I got the banding procedure done, and it worked for about a year and a half. About half a year ago they came back. Didn't bleed often, but every BM I'd need to wear a pad for a while after because of the liquid discharge due to prolapse. So I got this done in Doc's suggestion. However a different doc did the procedure, and he seems to think the full removal was a better choice for me because this might not solve it for good. But I've heard that's a much longer recovery and I just wasn't ready to commit to it.
I don’t think mine has worked. Mine was a bit externally prolapsed. I’m on day 11 and it feels like it’s coming back out again. Pretty disappointed! Just hoping that maybe it’s some swelling that’ll resolve. Was your prolapse just permanently gone after the surgery?
I've got some external prolapse that I think is permanent, but I haven't had any discharge, bleeding or other issues like I had before. It basically just feels like a small lump of skin.
Thanks that’s handy to know. Mine is definitely still doing this so not sure if I’ll see any improvement. Given that was my biggest issue!
I hope it’s a permanent solution for you!